SkekSil's Life Changing Story
by dondena
Summary: Alternate version of Chamberlain's Life Changing Story. Alien men want to give SkekSil his own special gift.
1. Chapter 1

A group of scientists of an alien race had designed a new dimensional device to help them travel to different worlds and anywhere in time. The device also showed pictures of where they would go before they would even step through the portal.

Before long, they spotted a world in the picture box. It showed a dark castle in the distance, then it zoomed in more. It had weird shapes on it. Then the it went inside the castle to show the occupants who lived there. The scientists always checked on the occupants to see if a world was worth visiting.

There were 10 occupants living there. They all were dressed in heavy robes, and their heads looked like vulture heads. They had two arms and were bipedal, though they had an extra set of arms that were dormant to use underneath the heavy robes.

To these alien scientists, these creatures surely looked interesting to study. Surely they could learn about them before maybe interacting with them. Their device would also take care of any language barrier problems. They would be able to communicate with them.

But first, they wanted to learn of these creatures. They also had belts that enabled them to go invisible should they have the need to escape or just not be seen. They knew until they found out more about these beings, they didn't want to be seen.

They got their supplies ready and entered the portal to this strange new world.

...

The planet was called Thra.

The scientists entered the castle from through their portal. Everything they needed they were carrying on their backs. Until they knew their way around this castle, they weren't going to leave anything behind. There were 3 men.

The Skeksis were now in the Crystal Chamber, having their daily Crystal cleansing to give them some energy. The men watched in interest.

They saw that these creatures sure looked mean, though one in particular caught their attention. He had a smiling like face. He wore red and black robes.

The scientists would learn more of him and his companions, but keeping a watch on him in particular. They would stay here for a number of months and just study these beings and get to know their habits and learn about them. And each one of them would keep an eye on things when it was time for rest. They would take turns on watch duty throughout the sleep times.

Once they got their energy in for the day, the Skeksis left the chamber and went about their daily duties.

The men were invisible to the Skeksis' eyes. They followed the one that had caught their interest today.

They learned that he had a wheedling voice, and he had a constant hmming going on. They later learned that his name was SkekSil the Chamberlain, but he was mostly called Chamberlain.

He had a habit of annoying the others when he was around. He was a sly one, and he tried to win the Emperor's favor constantly.

They also studied the others as well. Among them was a real nasty looking one called SkekUng the Garthim Master and General. He and the Chamberlain were particular rivals.

There was the tallest one, SkekZok the Ritual Master, who was also like a high priest. He did the daily ritual with the Crystal.

SkekEkt the Ornamentalist was the most female like. Making clothes and practicing singing with some little Pod people. Practically spoke like a female too.

SkekShod was the Treasurer. He bit gold and dealt with the jewelry and had very limited speech.

SkekTek was their scientist. They saw he wasn't the nicest to other living beings and he walked with a limp and had a false arm. And he had a glowing eye.

SkekNa was the Slave Master. He had a false arm too and a bad eye as well. He also fed scraps to the other Skeksis when they were hungry between meals. And he was in control of the Pod slaves.

SkekOk was the Scroll Keeper and Historian. He wore 3 pairs of glasses. He sounded like an old man when he talked. And he was a constant liar.

SkekAyuk was the Gourmand. He made bowls for every meal and supplied the food at the meals. And he was a big eater more so than the others. The scientists also noticed he and SkekEkt shared a special bond.

Then there was SkekSo the Emperor. He was the most power hungry and vicious.

They saw that Chamberlain was pretty much ignored, and more of the others had more of the Emperor's favor.

The Skeksis didn't treat each other with the best of respect either. They were all rude and crude to each other, though they just tried to get along the best they could without fighting, but they looked like they would enjoy a good fight.

...

Over time, the scientist aliens saw that Chamberlain was shunned by pretty much all of his clan. He hardly got his fair share of anything. Especially from the Emperor.

The scientists took pity on him. Though they found him to be so called a lord and he had a high ranking among his clan, somewhat below the Emperor, but he just didn't get that much recognition. And that was probably why he was whimpering all the time, for attention.

The aliens were now deciding to take a matter into their own hands. To give him something special of his own. Being scientists, they were also biologists and such too.

They had found that the Skeksis were also more lizard like too. They had bird like heads, but lizard bodies.

The aliens went back to their home dimension to get additional medicines and sedatives. If this gift was going to work, they needed this stuff. They even brought along a portable ultrasound machine.

Some species of lizards were known to change sexes if there was far too many of the same sex. The men were thinking of giving the Chamberlain an exam while he was sedated and see what the internals organs looked like and if it was possible, could they add to the number of Skeksis?

Once they had everything they needed, the men went back to the castle in Thra and now that they knew their way around the castle, they left the main stuff in the lower corridors of the castle, as the Skeksis didn't exactly go in the sewer like areas.

They knew Chamberlain's whereabouts most of the day, and at times he would venture off alone, and he did happen to get close to the lower areas of the castle alone. Now they were just going to have to wait and get him alone. Though the men were sure the other Skeksis wouldn't miss the Chamberlain's presence while they examined him and did their thing.

It took a few hours to wait him out, but soon, the men could hear him coming. They knew it was him because of the whimpering. He even did it when he was alone. The men prepared a dart gun. It was a soundless kind of gun.

They had a dart full of sedative ready and they were just waiting for the Skeksis to get in the right spot to dart him. They were sure it wouldn't harm him any and that it should affect him the way it would any lizard.


	2. Chapter 2

The Chamberlain was wandering the halls, going on to his next job around the castle, though he felt miserable that another idea of how to gain the Emperor's favor back had failed again.

He went on looking at the floor, not minding much of anything when out of nowhere, he felt a sharp prick in his neck. He couldn't help but scream in pain.

His left hand went up to his neck to feel at the sore spot and he felt something, then he pulled at it and it came out of his skin. He looked at the needle and bottle with a mad glare.

Chamberlain had only seen needles when they were used for sewing clothes, and that was usually the Ornamentalist's job. But he wasn't anywhere around this part of the castle at this time of day.

"Shouldn't we go and get him now?" One of the men asked.

"No, wait. We wait until the drug takes effect and he's out first. We don't want him to see us just yet." The leader said quietly.

The men continued to watch the Skeksis as the drug took effect.

As Chamberlain looked around for signs of where this thing could have come from, all of a sudden, he noticed his vision began to get blurry on him.

He shook his head, but it only got worse. He whimpered as dizziness began to come on too. He put a hand on his head. Now he wasn't feeling so good.

He tried walking away from the spot to maybe confront SkekEkt about this needle, but he was beginning to stumble in his walking attempts. He could see the wall and made it to the wall and placed a hand on the wall to steady himself, but as the drug got stronger, Chamberlain just felt so tired.

He legs gave way and he fell to his knees, his hands landing in the all fours way and the needle rolled away from his hand. Chamberlain moaned and whimpered some more.

"Oh, what's wrong with me?" SkekSil asked himself.

He tried to stay awake, but it was too much. Finally, he fell to his left side, out cold.

"Finally! I thought he'd never go out!" The one man said.

"Now let's get him down here without having to worry about the others seeing us." The leader said.

The 3 men went over to the unconscious Skeksis and nudged him to make sure he was sleeping completely. His breathing was stable and he didn't stir. The men got to work with lifting him into the quiet of the lower floors where they could work in peace.

Chamberlain wasn't too heavy to lift, but heavy enough. The robes made him look bigger than he really was.

Once they had him down in the catacombs, they laid him down gently on his back. They laid his head on a pillow one of them supplied. Then they got to work.

Starting at the legs, they began to pull the clothing up to reveal Chamberlain's underside. It wasn't the prettiest site, but they needed to examine the organs in his lower body. But they did raise the clothing up enough to see what he had on his front side.

He did look a little fat in the belly, and above that, Chamberlain did actually have breasts too.

To the men, this did ask a question whether or not the Skeksis was part female or not. They were about to find out by getting a look at the internal organs.

The ultrasound machine was started up and gelled up, as was Chamberlain's belly.

These men were experts in lizard studies, so they knew what to look for if this Skeksis was anything like lizards back home.

The man doing the ultrasound found some digestive organs and then found what looked to be the reproductive organs. Chamberlain had both male and female organs inside him.

"Wow! He does have female organs too. We have to give that to him. He's a hermaphrodite! The others must be too."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We are going to give Chamberlain something to call his own for a change. Babies!"

"But which Skeksis is going to be the father if he's going to be the mother?"

"Chamberlain will be both parents. We collect sperm from his male organs and inject them into the female organs. I'll give him some hormones to make the female organs active and ovulate. We are going to do this all now. Then we'll wait a few weeks and see what happens."

One man was watching Chamberlain's breathing. While the leader was getting the hormones ready and collection tubes, the last man kept the probe on SkekSil's belly.

The leader, once he was ready, got the Skeksis sexually aroused in his sleep, and collected some semen from him. He then examined it by microscope. There were plenty of fertile sperm in the semen.

Then he prepared the semen for injection into the female organs. But first, he gave Chamberlain an injection in the side that would stimulate the ovaries to ovulate eggs. Very carefully, the man injected the semen through Chamberlain's belly and into the female reproductive tract. He didn't want to mess with the nether parts.

"You sure that will be enough sperm in there, Boss?" The man assisting with the ultrasound asked.

"It should be. Lizards can store sperm if needed. Now all we can do is wait. If it doesn't work this time, then we'll try again in a month or so. Just watch for any signs it took, like if he doesn't feel well later on and such. Pregnant creatures often don't feel good in the beginning."

Once the exam was over, Chamberlain was cleaned up and taken back up to the place where he went down after making sure the area was clear. Then he was given the wake up drug. He had stayed unconscious the whole time and his vitals had remained okay.

The men gathered their stuff and left SkekSil alone. His clothing had also been pulled down again so he wouldn't suspect anything had happened to him. The men would only continue to watch him, and more now that they were hoping that he would get pregnant.

They suspected he might get pregnant with eggs, but it was possible for live birth too. But first, it was just the waiting.  
...….

Chamberlain soon came around. He was dizzy in the head, and his vision was blurry at first, but when it focused again, he saw he was lying on the floor in the hallway.

"What am I doing here?" He asked to no one.

SkekSil slowly and dizzily got to his feet with the help of leaning on the wall. He whined with the feeling he had in his head. He didn't feel good right now.

Chamberlain made some clumsy steps as he was trying to go about his business again. He had now forgotten all about that needle. He just wanted to get out of here.

After he was gone, the men collected that needle. None of the other Skeksis could see it or know about it. Especially not the Scientist.

Chamberlain ended up stumbling to his bedroom instead of going to dinner. His vision still had blurry moments and he was dizzy. If he ate now, he felt he was going to be sick. Chamberlain just had a real early turn in. He knew the others wouldn't miss him, though he had no idea what time of day it was. He had been out for a little while. Even his stomach felt kind of funky.  
...….

At the dinner table, none of the others missed SkekSil's whining voice, though the Emperor did ask if anyone had seen him. Nods of no and sayings of no were heard. The clan just wanted a good enough peaceful dinner without the annoying one there.  
...…

After dinner, there were a few more chores to do before bedtime.

The Historian was on his way back to his library when he happened to pass by the Chamberlain's room. He heard the whimpering voice and heavy breathing.

He looked into the dark room and saw the bundle under the blankets. Chamberlain was in his own room. He had missed dinner, now that was unusual for him.

Most of the time, the Skeksis were not in their bedrooms during the day unless they were sleeping and didn't feel well. This was the case of SkekSil.

The Historian went into his room and woke him up. "Chamberlain! Wake up!"

"Hmmm! Wha?" He moaned.

"The Emperor asked where you were at dinner. You missed dinner." Historian said.

"Hmmm. Not feel good. Just want to sleep." Chamberlain replied. He laid his head back down.

"Fine. But it won't be good if the Emperor is needing you." Historian said and walked out of the room.

Chamberlain sighed. Did the Emperor need him right now? He could talk to him later. He didn't talk to him that much anyway. He went back to sleep, hoping that in the morning he would feel better.  
...…..

In the morning, Chamberlain woke up feeling better now that he had slept off the drug. He felt hungry too and went down for some breakfast.

He saw the stares he got from the others, though they mainly ignored him. But the Emperor had mind to talk to him this morning.

"So Chamberlain, where were you last night?" The Emperor demanded.

"I, uh, went to sleep early, Sire. I got sick last night. I'm better now and ready if you need me." Chamberlain explained.

"Fine. Just do your duties after breakfast. Just so unusual for you to miss a meal." The Emperor said.

"Hmmm." SkekSil whined. He knew what he had to do around here.


	3. Chapter 3

Things never changed much in the castle over the next few weeks. Every Skeksis went about their daily life and only came together for the meals and daily Crystal gathering.

The Garthim were sent out like every other day to gather food and Pod People to turn into more slaves.

But something had changed a little more for Chamberlain. He began to get sick a lot more and ended up staying in bed for a majority of each day, and some of his duties didn't get done.

He had dizziness problems, nausea in his stomach and felt if he ate anything, he would bring his food back up. He got moodier. He snapped at nearly everyone, and they were not so pleasant right back at him.

It would often take a few days before SkekSil felt hungry enough to eat anything, and when he did, it wasn't long before he felt sick to his stomach again.

Even though he had always been a whiner, now Chamberlain's whimpers were more out of discomfort than just nothing at all.

Chamberlain would try to go on in his day as much as he could, especially when it involved his Emperor. But the nausea would sooner or later make him go to bed.

The others were noticing something strange was going on with SkekSil and the whimpers were more annoying than ever, as well as louder. He was sick a lot to his stomach and felt tired and dizzy.

With the sick symptoms not seeming to go away any time soon, Chamberlain hoped he wasn't dying. He had seen his fellow Skeksis catch bad diseases and such and there had been no cure and had died over the centuries.

SkekUng was also keeping a stronger eye on him and if Chamberlain was dying, he would be one less rival to deal with.  
...

Chamberlain had been hoping he could beat the nausea, but he finally couldn't take it anymore after more than 14 days of this illness. He ended up going to the Scientist's lab to ask for herbs to help settle the nausea that he constantly had.

SkekTek reluctantly gave him something to help settle his stomach, and Chamberlain greedily ate them. They were gross, but if they would help, they were worth the effort.

The herbs helped a little bit, just enough for Chamberlain to get through the days of work. He could only seem to manage to eat dinner in the evening, but then, he was in for restless nights of throwing up and just trying to sleep, which he didn't get much of.

He started taking the herbs twice a day. Chamberlain now had late starts to his days as he needed the extra sleep in the mornings. He tried hard to keep his food down, but it wasn't easy. He knew he needed to eat.

But Chamberlain always did make it in time for the Crystal gathering every day at midday.

The sickness went on for a long time, and the Scientist was getting curious as to what was happening, though Chamberlain denied him every time as to what was wrong with him. He knew what the Scientist was capable of and he wasn't about to become his test subject.

"You ask for my herbs, and this illness has been going on long enough, Chamberlain. You want more of my herbs, you will let me examine you." SkekTek made it clear to him if he wanted more herbs.

"You will not touch me, SkekTek! I will not become your experiment!" SkekSil fought back. "Fine! I'll go on without them!"

"Fine! Have fun being sick then!" The Scientist laughed on his way out.

Chamberlain growled on his way out of the lab. His stomach gave a churn and he whimpered. He looked down and placed a hand on his stomach. "What happened to you? You never used to be like this." He asked his nervous stomach.

Another churn and then he grabbed at his beak and ran as fast as he could to the nearest place to get rid of his food.

Chamberlain knew this couldn't go on. He didn't want the Scientist getting anywhere near him, though it would be nice to have something to go on in what was making him sick so much.

He didn't want to die, but his illness felt like it was killing him. If only he knew what was really going on.

One day when he was in the presence of the Emperor, trying to do his duty to him, he ended up getting sick and he couldn't stop it.

"Chamberlain! That is enough! From now on, you are stripped of your duties and are to stay in your room until this problem passes!" The Emperor yelled at him.

"But what if something happens to me?" Chamberlain asked.

"SkekTek is to examine you and see what could be causing this. That's an order!" SkekSo declared.

"No! I'll stay in my room, Sire, but SkekTek is not touching me!" Chamberlain tried to defend himself. He turned and left the room in a hurry.

"So do I still get to examine him, Sire?" The Scientist asked.

"If you can catch him." The Emperor said.

At this point, even the other Skeksis were willing to help catch the Chamberlain and hold him down if they had to.

SkekUng wanted to see his rival suffer, and it was amazing he had gone on this long with the illness and not died from it. Most of the others were dead after being sick for so long.  
...

SkekSil had retreated to his room. He knew he was going to be so bored in here with nothing to do besides stay in bed, but he was too sick.

But then, the other Skeksis came into his room, with Scientist among them.

"Chamberlain, the Emperor has ordered this. You are not getting out of this. This has gone on long enough!" SkekZok said, who was in the lead, with SkekUng beside him first.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice, Chamberlain." SkekTek said.

"No! You are not touching me!" Chamberlain said, panic clearly in his voice, and he began backing away.

The others began to advance on him. They backed him into one of the corners in his room and there was no escape. They grabbed his arms and pulled him to the bed.

Chamberlain screamed and pulled to try to get away from them, but the others forced him onto his own bed and forced him to lay down.

"NO! Don't do this to me!" He screamed.

Some of his clothes were forced up on him, revealing his belly. Since his stomach was mostly the problem.

The others held him down while SkekTek examined his belly. After looking, he didn't see anything wrong physically, but he realized it had to do with something internally.

"I may need to go inside and see what the problem is." The Scientist said.

The others didn't exactly want to see that, but the Chamberlain would otherwise be forced to the lab if they needed to take him there.

"NO! Let me go!" SkekSil cried at the top of his lungs. "Just let me rest. I'll be fine!"

"Something has to be wrong internally. I will see to the problem personally. Take him to the lab."

The others began to get him to his feet and his clothes were pushed back down. Chamberlain saw his chance to break free and he took it. He got out of his room and ran for the lower catacombs.

"Let him go. If he dies, he dies." SkekUng said.

The others didn't follow him, though SkekTek had wanted to see what the problem was.  
...

Chamberlain ran into the catacombs beneath the castle and stayed there. All the stress he just went through didn't help and he got sick again.

"Why won't this go away? I want to get better." He said.

He had to sit down and calm down. He just didn't know why this was happening to him. He had never been this sick before in his life.

Chamberlain stayed down there for a few days, just to make sure that SkekTek wasn't going to get his hands on him. He would listen for the others, but they never came down here to look for him.

He stayed down there until the feelings of hunger got to be too strong for him. He had tried to ignore it the best he could, but now his stomach felt like it was going to tear him apart. It had been 3 days since his last meal.

As much as he wanted to eat something, he just knew though that he was going to get sick again. But he wasn't going to starve himself.

Cautiously, Chamberlain wandered up from the catacombs and went to the Slave Master's quarters.

The Slave Master was alerted to Chamberlain's company when he whimpered coming in.

"Still alive huh?" SkekNa scoffed.

"Yes, and wanting food." SkekSil replied.

"Well again?"

"Well enough."

"Just make sure the Emperor doesn't see that again."

"I know not to let him see it, but I can't help it. Just give me the food." SkekSil demanded.

The Slave Master let him have the scraps so he could be on his way, as he didn't want him getting sick in here.

Chamberlain went to his room and ate the scraps. For now, he knew he wasn't welcome to be out and about very much feeling like this. He would still go to the Crystal gathering every day, though he had missed it for the past 3 days, just trying to avoid the Scientist. But for now, he was only going to rely on scraps for his meals.

In theory, maybe smaller meals might keep the sickness down and less throwing up would happen.

It was a big pain having to stay in his room most of the day. He only left it for Crystal ceremony, to grab food, and relieve himself. But even with the smaller meals, he still couldn't help himself as he still got sick.


	4. Chapter 4

The sickness went on for a few more weeks. As soon as he had passed his 13th week, the symptoms started to subside a lot more.

When Chamberlain realized he was getting better again, he began to eat more and more, as he was having bigger cravings now.

He went to the Emperor in hopes of getting his jobs back and being able to eat meals again at the table.

The Emperor said he could as long as he was promised that the illness was gone. SkekSil assured him it was.

The General wouldn't have minded if the Chamberlain had died from his illness that had seemed like it was terminal, but Chamberlain had somehow managed to beat it.

Chamberlain got his duties back and was more than happy to be doing them. Plus with this new time, he had also gained a lot of energy back.

…...

Around this time, the alien men decided it was time to return and see if their experiment had worked. They had all their supplies ready, and they would do what they did last time. Wait the Skeksis out and dart him, then drag him to their private place and examine him.

They had said they would come back in a month, but it had been 3 months here on Thra since they had last been here.

They waited for their moment.

Chamberlain had to pass through this hallway every night. He whimpered even when he was alone.

The men heard him passing through now. They got the dart gun ready with the tranquilizer.

Chamberlain passed through at the right moment and then the needle was sent into his neck again.

The Skeksis screamed in pain. Again, he pulled the needle out of his neck, and once again, he passed out from the drug.

Then he was carried below for his exam.

His head was laid on a pillow and one man would stay up by his head to monitor his breathing and make sure he stayed asleep.

The clothes on his front were pulled up to expose the belly.

As they looked at his belly, the men didn't see much difference in size much at all. Maybe it did look a little thinner though, as Chamberlain hadn't eaten much in his time of being sick, or he had, but he just couldn't keep anything down long enough.

The other two men prepared the belly for examination and the ultrasound machine. SkekSil's belly was gelled up and the probe was put on him to see if there were any babies inside. It didn't take long to locate what they were looking for.

"Look there! There's a baby in there alright!" The lead man said.

Both of the others looked and could see one baby Skeksis. It was small and looked nearly formed. And with more moving of the probe, the lead man also found there was another baby beside it!

The test had actually worked! Chamberlain was carrying twins!

He moved the probe around some more to see if there were any more. He found none. Then he checked to see if they were going to be live birth or born in eggs. He didn't see any egg development. It was official; live birth when the time came to have them.

"So how far along do you think they are?" The man across from the leader asked.

"They looked to be at least 3 months along. Time must have went faster here than we thought." Leader replied.

Chamberlain was then cleaned up, his vitals checked, and taken back to where he was found. He was given the reversal drug and the men left him alone to recover.

When he came around, Chamberlain found that he was once again, on the floor in the same hallway. He had no idea why he was having this fainting spell. He remembered when it had happened once before, but it had been awhile, back before he got sick. But he was well again and why did it happen again and in the same hallway?

He also remembered being pricked in the neck with a sharp needle. He looked around for it but didn't find it. If he didn't have proof of it, none of the others would believe him. So he wouldn't tell the others. He would just be more watchful that it didn't happen again.

Over the next several days, Chamberlain was very wary as he passed through the hallway by the catacombs. Nothing happened. Maybe it was because he was watching could be why it wasn't happening again.

The men were still around. They watched Chamberlain's every move. If he was indeed in his second trimester, it wouldn't be long before the babies would begin to be felt whenever they moved. They wanted to be around for that.

But then, the leader said, "We will be around when those babies start moving around, but we are not going to interfere in his life anymore. He's got to come to the conclusion on his own."

"But it would be so fun to tell him the good news of what he's going to get soon."

"I know, but we were only going to monitor him from a distance." The leader said.

The men reluctantly packed up and went back to their dimension. They would come back off and on just to see what was going on. They would only interfere if something was really wrong.


	5. Chapter 5

Weeks passed, and nothing changed much in the Skeksis' lives.

There were Garthim hunts for food and Pod slaves. The Skeksis bullied each other and had meals, the Crystal ceremony, and just did their jobs around the Castle.

After so long of nothing happening, Chamberlain was now relaxed again and didn't pay attention in that hallway anymore. He just minded his own business again.

Chamberlain was full of energy right now and was craving a lot of food big time. He ate a lot more now and could definitely keep his food down again, and even though he didn't know it, he was getting bigger in the stomach too. The twins were getting big. And it wouldn't be long before Chamberlain would begin to feel them move.

When he passed his 18th week, Chamberlain did begin to feel strange sensations in his stomach.

"No! Not again! Please not again!" He pleaded with his stomach. "I don't need to be sick again."

But this time, he didn't end up sick despite the new feelings stirring inside him. But he was going to be watching himself very carefully that it didn't happen again.

Another two weeks went by and the stirrings got stronger. Chamberlain was constantly looking down at his belly, wondering what was going on inside him. Though he only did it when he was alone and he didn't let it disturb him when he was working.

The stirrings were strongest after meals and at bedtime.

The men who had impregnated him only watched from a distance and they saw that he did look down at his stomach a lot and guessed that the twins had begun movements that Chamberlain could feel now. They would keep their distance in their dimension and watch via the orb TV.

At night, when he went to bed, SkekSil wondered what was going on inside him. Why was he feeling these stirrings? Sure, he knew his food needed to digest, but it had been nothing like this before. He hoped nothing was wrong with him. He had been sick for a long time and had finally gotten rid of it. Whatever was going on, he hoped it wouldn't make him sick again.

Whatever was going on, Chamberlain didn't want to tell the others. As long as he wasn't sick, he wasn't going to tell them. They all had limitations on believing what he said anyway. He would go on with his life for as long as he could.

Chamberlain managed to get his sleep at night despite the stirrings he felt inside him at night. He mostly tried to ignore it. He got up each morning with a good craving for something to eat.

He sat close to the Emperor and he just minded his own business as he ate the food that would give him his much needed energy for the start of the day.

The others were all noticing how much he was eating. He kept on wanting more food, and that was usually reserved for the Gourmand wanting more. If Chamberlain wasn't satisfied from breakfast, then he went to the Slave Master for more scraps afterward. Something was driving him to want to eat way more than what he used to.

And it was always right after he would eat that he would feel some stirring within his belly. But they were so limited when he was walking about the castle doing his duties. He could largely ignore them when he was up moving around.

The Crystal Gathering at midday also gave him energy to get through his days.

As the weeks passed by, the stirrings got stronger. They weren't so small anymore. Chamberlain could feel more of a force behind whatever he felt in his belly.

They remained calm through the day of his working, but at night when he was settling down for some much needed rest, the movements would really start up then.

He would start out on one of his sides trying to get comfortable, then he began to feel the movements. It would make him turn on his back.

The Skeksis took off their heaviest parts of clothing when they went to bed at night.

Chamberlain put a hand on his stomach to feel it, trying to settle it down. "Please calm down. I need my sleep."

But, as if responding to his voice, he felt a good sized bump under his hand. It surprised him immensely and he took his hand off the spot.

The twins would roll, squirm, kick and punch just to try to get their own space comfortable. But the only problem was, their 'mother' didn't know they were babies that were causing his uneasiness.

Chamberlain wanted desperately to tell someone of what he was feeling inside him, but he feared embarrassment in front of everyone. And he feared going to the Scientist, knowing what he would be capable of doing just trying to get to the root of what was causing the stirrings.

There were times when he wanted to claim sleep so badly, but the babies weren't letting him get the rest he needed, and then he would force himself to get up and walk the hallways in his lightweight night wear only. Walking did seem to settle the twins down.

One night, for him, the movements made him so uneasy that he got up to walk and he walked to the Throne room. No one was in there right now, and feeling he had to sit down, Chamberlain sat down on the throne to take a break. And feeling so tired by now, he ended up falling alseep on the Emperor's throne. Chamberlain wished he could be the Emperor of his clan.

The next morning, when the Emperor arrived in the Throne room first, he saw there was someone else on his rightful throne seat. That boiled his blood.

He walked over so fast and shouted, "Chamberlain! Wake up!"

The shout woke SkekSil up so fast and it scared him. He screamed as he fell to the floor in shock.

"What were you doing on my throne?!" The Emperor demanded.

SkekSil had landed on his side on the floor, and only then, did he realize he wasn't in his bed chamber. He felt the weight in his stomach shift about at such a fast reaction and it was uncomfortable.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes, my Emperor." He was now in a bowing position, but on the floor still. "I wasn't causing trouble. I just had a hard time getting sleep and went walking to try to help myself sleep, and came in here. I just needed to sit down a moment and I guess I was so tired finally that I fell asleep in the wrong place." Chamberlain tried to explain.

"If you need a place to sit, sit in your own seat, not on my throne, ya hear?"

"Yes."

"Go get dressed. It's time to begin the day." The Emperor ordered.

"Yes, my Lord." Sil got up and went to go to his room.

He passed some of the others that were dressed and coming into the room for a meeting before breakfast would begin. He felt really humiliated being seen in just his lighter bedtime clothes passing by them. They also looked at him weird. Why would he be dressed like that?

After he was gone, the High Priest asked the Emperor, "What was going on with the Chamberlain being dressed like that?"

"I found him asleep on my throne! If he thinks he's going to take my place, he has another thing coming." The Emperor said.

The others knew that Chamberlain had a thing for wanting to be a leader too, but he could never win that honor no matter what he tried. And sitting on the throne was not going to get him that position at all either.

Once SkekSil was out of everyone's sight, he couldn't help that the way the Emperor had yelled at him made tears come to his eyes. He couldn't help it that he had fallen asleep there. He had needed to calm whatever was going on in his stomach.

He wiped the tears away and began getting on his more heavier robes. He still needed to face the others and make it clear as to what happened. He knew the Emperor would tell the others. And there was the possiblity he would be lectured some more. And right now, what moved at night was now not moving about. Maybe it was over.

Chamberlain went to join them for breakfast and he did indeed get lectured by quite a few of them. He had to stand his ground.

"I was tired! I couldn't sleep in my bed! I was restless!" He yelled back at them. But he wasn't going to bring up the other reason why he couldn't sleep.

From now on, Chamberlain knew he would have to make due with walking around the lower corridors if he needed to walk around before bed to calm his stomach. He didn't want to face this humiliation again. He really hoped these stirrings would stop.


	6. Chapter 6

But the stirrings only got stronger over the next several weeks. He was finding it harder now more than ever to get his much needed sleep. He often whimpered in bed, feeling the strong movements and just trying to breathe properly.

He could feel more weight inside him now and it was heavy. Months before, he liked to sleep on his stomach, but now, the weight was so bad that he had to use his sides and back now. But if he turned onto his back, the weight of the twins would be pushed into his internal organs, and that was extremely uncomfortable for him.

Sometimes when he was walking about doing his duties around the castle, the weight he felt, felt like it would make him lose his balance and he would trip over his own feet or his robes.

The heavier the babies got, the more miserable Chamberlain got. He had a big appetite, but felt some discomforts in his stomach too, other than the twins moving around.

When he got up every morning, he was tired, but with his heavy clothing off at this time, Chamberlain was noticing that he was gaining weight. He was getting fat in his stomach. It must have been his eating habits. But he didn't want to get as fat as the Gourmand was.

"I may need to reduce my eating if I want to lose this fat." He told himself. "But I'm just so hungry all the time."

A lot of the food he ate seemed to go to the babies and barely leaving him anything, leaving him still very hungry.

Chamberlain was now at the 27 week mark.

His back hurt from all the weight he had in the front, and he was hurting in the lower pelvic area. His pelvic bones had recognized his condition and were preparing for the birth. And even his breasts felt weird. They felt more tender, and they were preparing for milk production. And he felt some small painful sensations in his belly that he didn't know were practice contractions of his womb.

None of the other Skeksis had noticed how Chamberlain was bigger in the front because they didn't come in his room that often and his heavy clothing hid his stomach during the day.

SkekSil still had no idea what was going on with his body, but he did feel the weight in his belly, and he tried to keep his belly protected right now. Some strange instinct seemed to be telling him to. And if he was hit to the floor real hard or anything, the weight in his stomach would hurt him big time.

His feet also began to swell a lot and he was getting to be so tired a lot of the time that Chamberlain would just see that his chores were done in the morning and after the Crystal ceremony at midday, he would do a few more chores and then go to bed for a nap in the afternoon. He had to get his rest. Then he would wake up a few hours later and just in time for the evening meal.

He began to reduce his eating, hoping to reduce his weight, but he still felt that raging hunger. And the movements that followed. But maybe eating less would stir what was inside him less, he figured. But that did no good. The babies would keep moving about.

When he reached his 30th week, the twins moved around a little bit less, but Chamberlain could still feel when they moved about inside him. And even though he had been trying to lose weight, he only just seemed to keep on gaining it instead. He just didn't get it.

Eating smaller meals though was helping with keeping digestive discomfort away. But one day, something else happened.

It was the evening mealtime. Everyone was just eating as contentedly as they could. Chamberlain was just enjoying his meal when suddenly, he felt a tightening in his stomach. It made him stop eating.

He tried to ignore it, but it only got stronger. It made him cringe. He started whimpering, which to the others, was nothing unusual.

He sat back in his seat and put a hand over his stomach, hoping it would pass. He hoped the others wouldn't notice his discomfort. But someone had.

SkekSil began breathing through his mouth.

"What's wrong with you, Chamberlain?" He heard his name. It had come from the Scientist.

Then he began looking around. Some of the others had heard the question too. Even the Emperor.

"Oh, nothing."

"Your breathing was different, seemed strained." Tek said.

"I'm fine! Leave me alone!" Sil snapped at him. "Ooh!" He moaned next.

"There is something wrong with you." The Historian spoke up next.

"Just minor pain in my back. That's all." Sil said.

And it wasn't long until the discomfort passed. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a more active practice contraction.

Sil finished his small meal and hurridly got away from the table. And again, the Historian noticed how he had walked out in a hurry. Something was definitely up. Could he be trying to gear up for one of his many schemes again?

Chamberlain made it back to his room and sat down on his bed. He placed a hand on his stomach. "Why do you keep doing this to me?" He asked it. He couldn't help that he would talk to his belly now, but he wished his knew what was going on with it.

"Keep doing what to you?"

Sil jumped at the question and put his hand on the bed to keep himself from falling over. He hadn't heard someone following him or heard the Historian come in to his room.

"What is really going on with you, Chamberlain? You have been acting very strange of late, and yet, for a long time now. Even more strange when you stopped being sick a long time ago." The Historian said.

"Can't you mind your own business?! I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine. I noticed it too at the table. What is really going on?" He demanded.

"What's going on with me is my business only. I said I'm fine. Now get out."

"Fine, be like that." Historian said and left.

Chamberlain sighed when he left. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. If the pains got worse, he might have to have help, though dreading the consequences.


	7. Chapter 7

The practice contractions kept on coming. They did get stronger, like strong cramps. They came on a few times a day, and they were quite uncomfortable for the pregnant Skeksis. He didn't know what was causing them.

Things continued like that for several more weeks. The pains stayed mild enough, as did the stirrings from inside him.

By the 36th week, Chamberlain's stomach was huge. He had hoped to lose the weight, but it had kept on coming on. He was eating only very small meals now throughout the day, and he couldn't remain on his feet very long with the weight he had inside him and the way he had swollen feet and leg cramps.

The other Skeksis had noticed they weren't seeing him that much anymore. Some of them didn't mind it that much, but it was just strange. SkekSil did like to be noticed and liked to be where the action was usually, but lately, he avoided everyone if he could help it.

At one point, the Emperor wanted to know what was going on and sent SkekEkt to go see what was going on with the Chamberlain.

Ekt went to see his ally, who was once again found in his room. He was in his bed, sleeping. He was taking his afternoon nap. He had most of his heavy robes off.

The Ornamentalist went up to Sil's bed and gently shoved at his left shoulder. "Chamberlain, can you wake up?" He asked with his soft voice.

Chamberlain felt someone moving his shoulder. "Go... away." He said lowly.

"You need to wake up, Lord Chamberlain." Ekt continued. He made his voice a little louder.

That made Sil wake up. "What do you want?" He said a little fiercely when he had to move from his comfortable spot in his bed.

He turned over a little too fast, and Chamberlain felt the heavy weight inside him shift. "Agh!" He put his right hand over his belly to support it.

SkekEkt saw it all. His eyes widened. Chamberlain was not that fat.

"You have gained a lot of weight, Chamberlain. You have been acting so weird. Is that why?" He asked.

Sil looked up at his ally. "Please, Ekt. Don't say anything. I'm fine, really. I've just been tired lately."

"Perhaps a bit too much. And you being in pain, you need to lose that weight."

"I know, and I've been eating less, but I keep getting bigger in my belly. I don't know why." Sil said.

"Does it hurt?" Ekt asked.

"Sometimes. I may not have long to live. Some pains keep on getting stronger. I just don't feel good." Sil explained.

The Ornamentalist knew that the clan would virtually celebrate if Chamberlain died. But he had come here to find out what was going on with him and now he knew why. Why he had been a lot less active lately. His ally might be dying.

"Get some rest then." Ekt said and was going to leave. Then Sil spoke up again.

"I suppose you can tell the others. If I'm dying, they must know." Sil said.

Ekt nodded and left.

Chamberlain laid back down and tears filled his eyes. He didn't want to die. But he felt the growth in his stomach was going to kill him. His body already hurt so much from all the weight he carried.

When SkekEkt returned to the Throne room, he faced his Emperor. "My Lord, SkekSil is not feeling very well and is in pain. He thinks he's dying."

That made the whole court stop what they were doing and stare at what the Ornamentalist said.

"Why does he thinks he's dying?" The Emperor demanded.

"He has something wrong with his belly. Pains inside him." Ekt tried to say simply.

"We all get some digestive upset here and there." SkekZok said.

"He feels it's more than that. He didn't look well either."

"If he dies, then we will be rid of his whimpering days." SkeksUng said.

"I need to see for myself what is going on." The Emperor said and he got up from his throne. The others followed him.

They all went to see how Sil was doing. They found him lying in his bed, barely awake.

"Chamberlain!" The Emperor said.

"Agh!" Sil jumped. It made the twins jump inside him too. "What brings you here, Sire?"

"You. I hear you think you are dying."

"I've not been well for a long time even though I have not thrown up. I hurt all over and feel like I can barely move. I can hardly get up anymore." Sil explained.

The rest filed into the room.

Chamberlain did indeed not sound normal. But he had his legs up, trying to hide the swelling of his huge stomach.

"SkekTek, take a look at him and give a diagnosis." The Emperor ordered. "Out the rest of you."

The lead Skeksis made the others leave, but glaring that Tek was going to be having all the fun.

The Scientist began stepping toward the bedridden Chamberlain.

Chamberlain's eyes widened. He began to tense. "No! I won't let you touch me!"

"I must, Lord Chamberlain. If you wish to know what is wrong with you." Tek said.

Tek got to Sil's bed, then he pulled the blanket off. Sil tried to move away, but his big belly prevented him from moving too fast. He couldn't move. "Agh!"

SkekTek instantly saw the problem. He saw the size of SkekSil's stomach.

Sil looked up at him worriedly.

"How long have you been hiding this? We've never known you to be fat." Tek said.

"A long time. After I stopped being sick, it started growing and wouldn't stop." Sil said.

"It's putting too much strain on your body. I need to examine it." Tek said and he made sure Sil remained on his back.

Chamberlain needed answers. "Just don't cut me."

"I will do what means necessary to find my diagnosis." The Scientist said.

Then a practice contraction came on and it made one of the babies kick Sil so hard, it nearly left him breathless. "OW!" He yelled.

"What?"

Chamberlain was rubbing his belly. "Pains." Then he opened his mouth to breathe through the practice contraction. It just made it easier.

Two minutes later, the pain passed.

Tek knew it was over when Sil relaxed after a big breath of air.

"Lay back. Now I must examine you." He said.

Sil laid far back into his pillow. He glared at the Scientist.

Tek lifted Sil's clothing and he saw how big the belly was. He put his left hand on the belly, getting an instant flinch.

Chamberlain wasn't used to letting one of the others touch his stomach, but this should have been done a long time ago. He had at least wanted to know what was going on before he died.

The Scientist felt around and felt how tight and heavy it felt. He tried pushing inwards and it wouldn't go in. He got a moan from Chamberlain.

Then he felt something beneath his left hand. Something moved inside from the pressure applied. Then there was a jabbing at his hand, making him let go.

He looked at Sil in shock.

"All this time and you didn't know what was wrong with you?" Tek demanded.

"No. I just took it as it's going to kill me." Sil replied.

"From what I just felt in there, you are not dying, Chamberlain. How did this happen? Who were you with?" The Scientist just started demanding.

"What do you mean?"

"Who is the father?! You are having a baby, Chamberlain!" Tek yelled at him.

Chamberlain's eyes widened in shock.

"I... I can't be. I haven't been with any of the others."

"There's no other way this could have happened. Who was it? Some of us know you have a thing for SkekEkt, being allies with him."

"No! I was never with him or anyone else! I don't know how it happened!"

"From how big you are and how easily I felt it, this baby is due any time now." Tek said.

Chamberlain still couldn't believe it. How had this happened? He didn't know. He knew he had never mated.

The Scientist left to go tell the news.

Chamberlain laid there, reflecting. He put his hands on his belly. Why hadn't he figured it out before? All the stirrings, the pains, why he kept on getting fat. But he had known he had never mated, so how did this happen?

He knew that all of them were capable of mating and perhaps getting pregnant, but their Emperor had forbade any kind of loving relationship.

Chamberlain had had experience with young adult Gelflings before, but he had no real experience with babies. Would he be able to take care of his child? He did fear the worst when the Emperor found out. He didn't want any competition for the throne, and younger Skeksis certainly would be later in life.

And not long after that, an angry Emperor stormed in. "Who is it?!" He demanded.

Sil looked up at him in shock. "No one, Sire! I promise I was never with anyone! I don't know how it happened!"

The rest of them were right behind him. They couldn't believe this either.

"Did you know you were having a baby and were trying to hide it from us?!"

"NO! I did not! I just thought I was sick."

The Emperor looked like he was about the murder Chamberlain. Sil curled his body up as much as he could, bringing his legs and tail close to his body. He wanted to stay away from him.

"That baby is a threat to my throne!"

"He won't be. I promise." Sil pleaded.

"I'll be watching him." The Emperor warned.

Chamberlain knew he had every right to be worried for his baby. He had many rivals here. The Emperor had stormed out. Now he looked at the others. They were all looking at him in shock.

"You all know you were never with me." Sil said.

"None of us ever would either!" Ung growled. Then he followed the Emperor out.

The others turned and left, all but Ekt.

"Have you begun to think of names?"

"No. I haven't had time to think of them. I just found out." Sil said.

...

For the next several days, Chamberlain had became bedridden. He just didn't have the energy anymore to be up and about for long. He was mainly only up for relieving himself. Ekt had become his closest friend right now, mostly just bringing him his food and talking to him about the baby.

The Scientist checked on him daily too. Sil was rather objective of his services, but he knew he needed to let him check on the baby. Tek was excited for this. He had never seen a baby Skeksis before and he was anxious to get his hands on it.

Chamberlain would be watching his 'doctor's' every move.

All the others were being rather watchful of him too, to watch for a new baby.


	8. Chapter 8

Just within days of finding out, Chamberlain entered his 37th week and then it happened one night.

Sil was sleeping peacefully when he woke up to a stabbing like feeling in his stomach. He began to moan until it got real bad that he screamed.

The contraction felt like it was going to tear him in half. He had never felt pain like that in his life.

It was the longest minute of his life.

He had been sitting up when he had first felt it. Now he laid back into his bedding. "Does it have to hurt that bad?" And he realized how much it was going hurt for a long time, depending on how fast the baby came.

...

Some few hours later, SkekSil's screaming had awakened quite a few of the others. The Scientist and Ornamentalist were in there with him. Many of the others were irritated that the screaming had woke them up until they realized what was happening. It was going to be an anxious time.

The Emperor wanted to be informed of the birth when it had arrived.

Ekt was offering Sil much needed support to get through this painful event. His closer friend, Ayuk, was not liking Ekt being near Sil like this, but he knew Ekt was the best at offering this kind of support.

SkekTek would check Sil's progress every so often. The baby was descending ever so slowly.

Then within a short time after that, Chamberlain felt something inside him, like a pop, then a rush of fluid came rushing out from in between his legs.

Chamberlain hadn't felt the urge to relieve himself. He looked at his wet blankets, grossed out.

"Your water broke." Tek said. "That should start making things speed up now."

And within a minute of that, another contraction came on. Sil leaned forward and Ekt had to push him back down to make sure that he could breathe.

Chamberlain screamed again. "It hurts!"

"Just breathe!"

Every time a contraction ended, Chamberlain felt like he was going to die. When was it going to end?

...

Soon, Chamberlain did feel an urge to push as the baby was getting more down into his pelvis. It was burning and the urge was strong.

"I need to push!" Sil said.

"Then, when the next pain comes on, push on it. You pushing during it makes the baby move." The Scientist said.

When the next one came on, Chamberlain bared down with all the strength that he had in him. This was new to any of the Skeksis as this had never been done before, but the pushing was instinctual. The baby had to come out.

The Ornamentalist was urging Chamberlain onward to get his child into the world.

When that one was over, Sil just wanted this all to be over, but he could still feel his child descending downward. He didn't have long before another one came on.

...

Many pushes later, the little body finally was pulled free of Chamberlain's body. He fell back into his bedding, exhausted.

The Scientist cleaned the baby Skeksis vigorously, and trying to get the mucus out of his airway.

When the airway seemed clear enough, it began to let out a little wail. Then the cord was cut.

"It's alive, Chamberlain." Ekt said.

Sil smiled weakly. Then he looked at the Scientist holding his baby. "Let me see him."

"The Emperor wants to see him." The Scientist said.

"No. He's mine." Sil said.

The Scientist began to walk out of the room when another contraction hit Chamberlain.

"Oh!" Sil grabbed his stomach, but looked up at Ekt. "Get... my baby."

SkekEkt went after the Scientist.

Chamberlain was still in major pain however and shouldn't have been alone, but he didn't want his baby in the hands of the Scientist. Then he realized through his pain that he had another baby coming!

He bared down again as hard as he could to get the next one out. Sil hoped he didn't have too many babies inside him. He didn't have the strength to do much more.

A few more pushes, and the next one came out with hardly a problem. It came out with a rush of fluid and more blood.

Chamberlain could only lay back in his bedding after the last contraction. But he had to take it upon himself to clean it up or it could die if its airway wasn't cleared.

He had seen what Tek had done and he managed to find the strength to reach for his new baby and try to stimulate him to breathe.

He got the mucus out and this one let out a little cry too. Sil smiled so happily and he held the baby to his chest. The cord was still attached, but he didn't care. He just wanted his child, and its sibling back.

It wasn't long before Ekt returned with the firstborn and he saw that Sil had given birth to a second one.

He gave the first one back too. The Scientist came back into the room, wanting it back. Then he saw the incident before him. Chamberlain had had another baby.

"You are not taking my babies away from me!" Sil growled. "If they are to be seen by others, they come to me."

Tek knew he meant business. He got the afterbirth out shortly after.

...

In the valley, the Chanter had felt everything too from the labor and everything before that too. But now, the labor was all over. And at the same time, he wondered what it had all been about.

...

The other Skeksis all came back to the room and saw the new additions. Chamberlain would not let go of them. They were just cuddling in their 'mother's' warmth. His stomach still showed signs of looking pregnant, but he wasn't.

The adults could see a major difference in the babies that wasn't seen with them. The twins had no teeth, no spikes, and no hair at the moment.

What were these little ones going to eat if they had no teeth?

Chamberlain saw it and was worried about it.

The Emperor was now worried that he had two competitors for the throne. There had been this reason why he hadn't wanted his clan to mate.

"Now that we've seen the babies, leave them alone." The Emperor said.

The rest followed the order, but couldn't help but look back at the little ones. There would be plenty of time to see them later.

Chamberlain was finally glad to have the twins to himself. He had gone through a long time of not knowing and he still wasn't fully prepared for this. If he had known, he could be a lot more prepared for this moment in his life. He had brought new life into the world. But he just didn't know the first thing about caring for babies.

Their little hands were grasping at everything. When he put a finger in one little hand, he could feel the tight grip it had. It was definitely encouraging his 'maternal' bond.

"What are their names going to be?" SkekEkt had returned.

"I don't know yet. I've only known about him and now them only a few days." Sil said.

Then Ekt noticed something. The twins were mouthing Sil's clothing. They looked hungry.

"I think I know what to feed them. They look hungry, Lord Chamberlain." Ekt said. "Can I have one of them?"

"Just don't leave with him." Sil said as he handed the one on his left to Ekt.

"If you can pull up your clothing a bit more, we'll find the food source for them."

Chamberlain reluctantly pulled his clothing up to reveal his swollen, but gone down belly.

"Your breasts are going to be the feeding source for them. Until they are old enough." Ekt said.

Sil pulled his shirt up more, revealing the breasts. Then Ekt put the one he had onto Sil's stomach and the baby found the left breast and latched on.

Chamberlain found the nursing to be rather painful, but the skin was just so tight from the milk storage and now it would have a way to get it out. Then he put the second baby down there and it too, latched on. He had a hand on each his baby to make sure they would stay there.

The twins were indeed hungry for their first meal in the outside world. Now Chamberlain just needed names for them.

The Ornamentalist left Chamberlain alone with the twins to let them eat and bond with their 'mother.'

Chamberlain still felt some mild contractions. He hoped there weren't anymore babies inside him. Two was enough for now. He couldn't handle anymore pushing this day.

While they were nursing, Sil tried to think of some names for the little ones. He also saw how much they looked just like him.

After the twins were done feeding, they both yawned and fell asleep on their mom.

Chamberlain felt tired himself. He was so sore and exhausted from all the pushing. He moved his children off his stomach and onto the bed. He turned onto his left side, avoiding the ruined part of the bedding. It could be replaced later.

Sil laid into his pillow and kept an arm around his little ones. He kept them close to his body. It didn't take him long to drift to sleep when he felt he and his babies were secure in the bed.

...

Aside from Chamberlain, all the others had had only a few days to get used to the concept of new babies being born at all.

The Emperor had ordered that the father give himself up, but there was no one who stepped forward.

"I will find out eventually." The Emperor warned. "The Chamberlain must know who fathered those babies."

None of them knew who it was.


	9. Chapter 9

The alien men had been watching the Skeksis from back in their home dimension from since their last encounter with Chamberlain. Now that the babies had been born, perhaps it was time SkekSil knew the truth to who had impregnated him, and if the other adult Skeksis posed a threat to them, the men would see fit to take the twins away for their own safety.

They got some supplies ready to go so they could go back to Thra and see their finished accomplishment.

...

A storm moved in later in the day. The storm woke the twins up and their crying woke Chamberlain up. He tried to calm them.

"It is only a storm, little ones. Not going to harm you." He said and then began making some whimpering noise. It did seem to soothe the twins.

SkekEkt came into the room shortly after and said that it was wise to get the ruined bedding off the bed.

SkekSil reluctantly forced himself to move. He sat up, which hurt, then slowly stood up. Then he turned and grabbed the babies. He wasn't letting them out of his sight.

Once he was on his feet, he felt all wobbly and jittery. His stomach felt weird now that it didn't have all that weight in it anymore. He had grown used to that weight over the past several months.

He went over to a chair in the room and sat down, but it made him hiss in pain, as the area under his tail was extremely sensitive from the birth. But he still sat anyway. He watched the Ornamentalist take off the old bedding and put on a new one. He had been working on it as he knew the bedding was going to get ruined.

"There, all done." Ekt said.

"Thank you." Sil said.

Sil got off the chair as quick as he could and went back to his bed. He still needed his rest. He was in no shape to be doing any chores at this time. It even hurt to walk. He was too unsteady on his feet right now.

"Do you feel like eating soon?" Ekt asked.

"Hmm. Not right now. Belly hurts from pushing. And still some pains in it." Sil replied.

"Understood. But you need to eat soon."

"I will, when I'm ready."

Ekt left the room.

Chamberlain laid the twins on the new bedding and felt it's new comfort. He could hear the thunder outside. The twins began to get squirmy and seemed to be hungry again.

Sil pulled up his clothing and let his babies nurse again. He would always need to be on his back if he fed both at once. But perhaps he could feed one at a time sitting up. Because he was the only source of food for them, they couldn't be away from him for very long.

Outside the room, the other Skeksis did their usual daily chores. They all had been affected in some way about seeing the little ones. They were wondering what the future would be like with them. Letting them live was all up to the Emperor too. So far, he had not said to have them harmed.

The General resented the idea of the Chamberlain having those babies. They would more than likely become more trouble makers like him.

The Gourmand knew that he would have to make food for two more mouths now. But he was also jealous of how much the Ornamentalist was giving Chamberlain all the attention. But SkekSil needed help right now in getting some extra hands to care for the twins.

The Historian took over Chamberlain's duties for now.

The Scientist really wanted to get his hands on one of the babies to study it, but for now, he had the afterbirth to study.

The High Priest was willing to do the order of doing away with them should the Emperor order it.

The Treasurer just minded his own business and went on biting his gold.

And the Slave Master just went on minding his slaves.

...

The alien men arrived back through the portal. They were so ready to see the babies.

They would wait until the Skeksis were at the evening meal. They knew SkekSil wasn't up to moving around yet or eating. It was midday when they had arrived. And the storm had now passed.

Later in the evening, the alien men made their way to the Chamberlain's room very stealthily.

When they first looked inside, they saw SkekSil asleep with the twins beside him. The leader nodded and they made their way in to the room.

When they got up close, they moved the blankets back to see the newborns. They were asleep too.

Hoping Chamberlain was a deep sleeper, the leader carefully moved Sil's arm from around the babies, and he picked them up gently. He handed each one to his comrades. They spoke in low voices.

"So, how do they look?"

"They look really good, though quite a bit different from Chamberlain, at least with the no hair, no teeth, and no back spikes. But they do look like him no doubt."

They took each baby's vitals. When they listened to the stomach sounds, it was obvious they had been fed. They also tested for grasping reflex and sucking motion. The babies indeed did have that.

"Chamberlain must be feeding them with milk."

"I think that's all they can have right now."

"Wish we could get a milk sample to test it for all the nutrition needs of these babies, as these apparently seem like the first babies ever born to the Skeksis."

"Getting that is next to impossible. Not without a fight from Chamberlain."

"I'm willing to risk it, but it would be easier on us and him if we just knocked him out to do the exam and get the milk sample. Then let him wake up and let him see us and tell him who gave his children." Leader said.

The twins soon woke up and when they didn't see their mother/father looking down at them, it scared them.

"Look, the little darlings woke up."

They began to cry. The men hurried the babies out of the room so Sil wouldn't hear them. But the leader stayed. He had a sedative with him. He snuck back into the room. Sil hadn't been disturbed yet.

The alien man now stood by the bed, and aiming the needle carefully, he put it into the back of Chamberlain's neck. Then he let go and hid.

"Agh!" Chamberlain felt something sharp and painful in his neck and made him wake up. It felt like something had bit him. He reached where the prick had been. He found another needle in his neck. Where did all these needles keep coming from?

But then, he noticed something else when he sat up. Where were his babies? He began to panic. He tried to get up. He had to go find them, whether he was sore or not. He feared the other Skeksis might have taken them, but just as he was getting up, his vision got blurry on him and he felt dizzy all over again. But he couldn't let his kids down.

"I wouldn't recommend getting up." Sil heard a deep voice, but didn't see anyone.

"Who's... there?" He asked and his voice was growing tired.

"Go to sleep and all will be revealed when you wake up." He heard the voice again.

"My... babies... " Then he was out.

The leader was glad he was finally out, but now they had to hurry. He went back to the catacombs and told his comrades to bring the twins back. They did.

"Hand that baby to him."

One twin was handed to join the other. They were still crying, but had calmed a bit. Then the man who had handed over the one baby to the other man was going to be an assistant to the leader.

They both went over to the sleeping Skeksis. "Trust me, he's out."

"Then let's get to work."

The assistant lifted up Sil's clothing to reveal the underside. He lifted it up high to the point of just below the ribs.

The leader pressed on Chamberlain's stomach to just feel what it felt like now that he wasn't pregnant anymore. Indeed, he could feel the womb, that was still huge at the moment. It would go down in time. Then, next, they wanted a milk sample.

The assistant took out a vial for his boss. He held it at one of the breasts as the leader began the milking process. This was a lot easier than if Sil was awake. But they did want him awake to get the news he wanted to know.

They collected enough milk to fill the vial. There would still be plenty for the twins. Once done, the assistant put a cap on the vial.

"There, now that we have what we need, now we can wake him up and give him the news he wants to know." The leader said.

"Here, Boss. I'll take this back to the equipment to keep it fresh." The assistant said.

"Good." He said and he gave Chamberlain the antidote. He also gave him an injection in his right hip to weed out any infections.

The man holding the twins then asked, "Won't the sedative be in the milk?"

"It might make them tired, but it won't harm them. This drug will change that." Leader said. "Now we just sit back and wait." The leader also put Sil's clothing back down.

The twins had been settled down now. Rocking them had settled them down.

It wasn't long before Chamberlain came around. "Hmmm, my head." He put a hand on his head, as he felt dizzy.

Once his vision cleared, he once again saw that his babies were missing. "Where are my babies?" He asked.

"Don't be alarmed. We have your babies." A deep voice said.

Chamberlain looked up and didn't see anyone. "Who's there?"

"Just some visitors who want to give you the answer you desire to know. Of everything."

"Just give me back my babies." Sil demanded.

"You are in no condition to be demanding things. We know you want them back, but know this, we have a way of seeing things going on here, and if we see your offspring are in danger, we will take them away to protect them."

"NO! I won't let you take them!" Sil yelled.

"It's amazing how he has only known about he was pregnant for a short time and he wants them." Another voice said from the shadows.

"They came from my body. I want them back."

Then the leader and the assistants stepped out from the shadows. It was dark in the room, and the hallway was barely lit. Chamberlain now saw their figures though. He saw huge creatures holding his babies.

"They didn't just come from your body, Chamberlain."

How did they know his name?

"You see, you didn't just pregnant, Chamberlain. We actually helped you get pregnant. You desired to know who helped it along, well, we are the answer to that. With some certain drugs, you were sleeping through some procedures that got your reproductive system to get active and in the end, it gave you these two little miracles." The leader explained simply.

Chamberlain couldn't believe what he was hearing. These creatures had forced this on him! But after finding out what had caused his discomfort for so long, he wasn't about to give up on his babies. He still wanted them. The Skeksis never had brought life into the world through their Emperor's orders, and Sil had not defied him. This had been out of his control, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

These babies were one thing that were truly his. Most of his fellow Skeksis just ignored him completely. Now he had something to look forward to.

"Please, don't hurt them." Sil pleaded.

"We wouldn't dream of hurting the little things. They are adorable." The third voice said.

"Well, just make sure that you take good care of them, and like I said, we will take them away if we feel they are in danger. Especially from your clan. We have watched them too. Give the twins back to him now." The leader said.

The assistants walked over to Chamberlain's bed and they gently laid them on the bed.

Chamberlain quickly picked them up and clutched them to him. The babies began to snuggle to his body.

"Get out of my room and do not come back!" Sil snapped at them. "You are not taking my babies away from me again!"

"Very well, but we will be watching."

Chamberlain glared angrily as he watched the strange creatures leave his room. When he didn't hear their footsteps anymore, he breathed a sigh of relief. His posture in the bed relaxed again.

Tears filled his eyes that those creatures had even thought of taking his babies away from him. It would have devastated him. But he also found it hard to believe that they had also been the ones to get him pregnant in the first place. But he remembered the sleeping spells that had happened a few times to him.

In that state, they could have done anything to him. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. It made him curl his tail up and bring his legs together just to think about it. It sent a shiver down his spine. But the worst was over and he had his babies back.

Chamberlain wasn't sure he would tell the others about this. They would no doubt not believe him without proof. Then he saw the needle on his bed. He picked it up. He knew his kind had no such syringes. There was his proof right there! But he would prove it later on, after he got his strength back.

...

The men went back to their world with what they had and would analyze it.

They would continue to watch the Skeksis and his offspring, but from a distance. Only if it was necessary would they take the babies with them.

...

The next day, Chamberlain made sure to get up out of his bed and get out and walk. He had his heavy clothes on again, and he had the Ornamentalist make a sling to be able to carry the twins with him.

After some serious thinking finally, he came up with the names Sha and Shen.

Chamberlain still wasn't well enough to do a lot of walking around the castle, but he went and ate and went to the Crystal ceremony too. He needed to get all the strength he could back.

He had been deeply disturbed after that for quite a while. He was even that way around his fellow Skeksis. It was bad enough that he had to be wary of his own clan, but at least he knew them. But he wasn't going to let anybody take his little ones without his permission.

He didn't want to mention the incident to the others right now. He needed to get his feelings settled first. He still had the needle in his room when the occasion would rise to give his proof.

A week after giving birth, Chamberlain felt he was strong enough to start doing his duties around the castle again and the Historian could retire to the other duties he had done before the birth.

The week before, he had rested a lot and kept an eye out for those creatures. He had resumed eating after a couple days. His stomach muscles had made him so sore that he just couldn't eat.

But the babies sure were eating well. Anytime they got hungry, he would take them to his room to nurse them. He mainly had to feed them lying down. And thanks to their nursing, the discomfort in his breasts had diminished too.

The others watched in jealously as Chamberlain carried the twins around in a sling. They could hear the little coes and other sounds they made whenever they had close contact with SkekSil.

The Emperor was still worried that the twins would pose a threat to his leadership. All the adult Skeksis were much older now and Sha and Shen would be much younger. They would move quicker. But he grew more annoyed than ever at a point that he finally demanded Chamberlain to tell him who the father was.

Chamberlain didn't want to remember the ones who had invaded his room and threatened to take his little ones from him, but he got the needle and proved it to the others that some other creatures had done something to him that got him pregnant in the first place.

"Where did these other creatures go and where did they come from?" The Emperor demanded.

"That Sire, I do not know. I never asked. They were threatening to take them away from me. I just wanted them back." Sil replied.

"You should have just let them take them." SkekUng said.

Sil glared at his rival. "Never! You have your Garthim. Sha and Shen are mine! I will never give them up!" He clutched the sling that held them.

"Enough! Fine. Chamberlain, you can have them, but make sure you raise them to not be an enemy to my throne." The Emperor ordered.

"Yes, Sire." Sil replied. He smiled. He was happy that his Emperor had let him keep them and he wouldn't make them be killed.

Some of the others were disappointed with that decision, but it was final.


	10. Chapter 10

Chamberlain nursed the babies for the first eight months of their lives. When they started getting their first teeth, nursing had to stop. It was a little hard at first to get them to eat new solid foods. But with adding more solid foods, nursing finally ceased after awhile. It had been hard for the twins to give up milk.

When Sha and Shen celebrated their first birthday, by then, they were starting to get hair on their backs and a little on their necks and heads. They started saying their first words too.

And now that they were weaned, between the Scientist and Ornamentalist, some new beds were made and decorated for them too.

Chamberlain never let them far from his sight. When they started walking on their own, that presented it's own challenges. Just keeping an eye on two of them was difficult. But he remedied that. He had a bigger sling made. He would let one child out at a time.

During all this, the Ornamentalist was a close friend and ally. He liked the babies, but tried to keep his distance from Chamberlain. He knew his closer friend, the Gourmand, didn't like him being near him unless necessary.

When he wasn't busy with the choir or making clothes, SkekEkt did make offers on babysitting Sha and Shen.

Right now, Ekt was the about the only one Sil could trust with his kids. There were times when Sil felt he needed a break from the kids. When Ekt did get the kids, he always took them to the kitchen to feed them, and hang out with SkekAyuk.

The Gourmand didn't mind the kids so much now. It did get him to feel like what it felt like to be a father of sorts. If it had ever opened up, he and Ekt would more than likely become parents of their own offspring.

The Ornamentalist had to make new clothes for them every few months it seemed. He wasn't used to growing Skeksis. But he enjoyed the kids. Sha and Shen also did like to see the Pod choir perform. Most of the others weren't that interested in the kids, other than that they stayed out of trouble.

Sha and Shen were pretty afraid of most of the others. Their harsh voices and yells scared them. Chamberlain told his kids to stay away from them.

As the kids got older, the Emperor did order that some of the others get involved in their Skeksis education. Chamberlain was quite against it, but wouldn't argue with the order. But he would attend every lesson to make sure none of the others would hurt his kids.

The Ritual Master taught them the rules of ceremony and about Skeksis dignity. He tried to be patient with them, but their high energy could get on his nerves. Chamberlain made sure he was never too harsh with them.

The General, ever so grumpily, was to teach them about being warriors. He would always see his rival watching in the corner. Chamberlain had his eyes on his rival as well. His eyes said it all. 'Don't hurt my kids or else!'

Sha and Shen weren't so much into the fighting department. That's also what annoyed the General. They were turning into models of the Chamberlain.

The Slave Master taught them the sigificance of having slaves around the castle. And he gave the kids food scraps too. Chamberlain always made sure that he did.

The kids only watched how the Emperor ruled with an iron fist. Chamberlain taught them about Skeksis kind of politics. And about how to be sneaky and prankish at times.

And as Chamberlain was wary of the Scientist getting anywhere near his kids, he made sure that Tek only showed his kids that were worth learning about, like learning some new ways that seemed like magic. Learning about chemicals and herbs that helped the body. Sil wouldn't let Tek show his kids the more extreme gory stuff that he did.

The Treasurer didn't really partake in their education at all. Chamberlain just told them that bribery was the thing with him.

When Sha and Shen made it to their tenth birthday, they started complaining that their backs itched a lot. When Chamberlain examined them, he saw why.

"As I and the other adult Skeksis have spikes on our backs, you two are now starting to get spikes on your backs too. They might itch a while, but it will stop in time." Sil tried his best to explain, though he nor the others had ever gone through it.

Chamberlain knew it was going to be hard on them to go through this phase, but it was another phase they had to go through to get to adulthood. And at this age, they were half his size.

By now, Sha and Shen had also chosen their favorite colors for clothes. Ekt had made them all sorts of colors to help them decide and by now, they had chosen.

SkekSha had chosen green and gold for his main wardrobe. His brother, SkekShen, had chosen red, orange, and yellow robes.

By the time they were twelve, the two young Skeksis had their job title names. They both were a lot like their parent, Chamberlain. Sha had gotten the job title of the Schemer. Shen had gotten the title of the Joker. Their spikes were also done growing too.

Sha had become an expert on blackmailing, which could get him into trouble at times. His sibling, Shen, on the other hand, was much more playful and just liked to tell jokes and play pranks. Some of the adults were more tolerant than others of their behavior.

Chamberlain didn't mind that his kids even annoyed his old rival. He liked to see them happy. The Ornamentalist and Gourmand didn't seem to mind the jokes too much either. They had become closer friends to Sil while watching his kids when they were younger.

The Emperor was watching the twins grow up, and he still worried of them being competition, but from what he saw, they seemed to be no threat. They were way too playful and joking to be able to rule their clan if he should ever have to step down or if he should die.

When they made it to the teen age of 17, they had virtually stopped growing and were about their 'mother's' size, if slightly smaller, being younger than Chamberlain.

They did have whimpers too like Sil did, and used them to annoy the other adults at times as they still did have their childish, playful natures. And their adult voices were almost like Chamberlain's too.

It had been one hard road for Chamberlain to raise his twins up from a surprise pregnancy to all of these seventeen years. The other adults had helped to teach them Skeksis education as much as possible, but their goofy natures annoyed some to no end. They had just inherited and were taught too much from Chamberlain.

But Chamberlain also taught them to be politicians like he was, in the event if something were to happen to him, they could carry on in his place. Being younger, they could outlast one of the older opponents. Though the General would always be a problem, with him being the heavy weight of the bunch of adults.

SkekSil was just happy that all had turned out good for the family that he had started and the Emperor had let them stay. But more so, he was glad he never saw those creatures again. And he had never told Sha and Shen about them. He didn't even want to. He just told them that he was both parents to them and they had been miracles in his life.  
...

Back in their dimension, the alien scientists had watched for the 17 years as well, and saw that SkekSil the Chamberlain had raised his twins well. They were a lot like him. He had been protective of them from day one. And with keeping the right company, the young ones had been allowed to grow up fine and healthy.

The End

 **Note: From a note from a reviewer called queenmedusa, to answer questions or statements: Yes, Jim Henson did say in a way the Skeksis were hermaphrodites. "We've never known these Skeksis to be male or female. We always kind of liked the idea of them being some uncomfortable mixture in between." - Jim Henson. I got this saying off the Habidabad page for SkekEkt.**

 **And at one point in the movie, it did kind of show how Ekt and Ayuk were getting along. After Sil had first captured Kira and they were walking in the hallway together, those two seemed to act like good friends, for Skeksis.**


End file.
